If you have kept bees for very long than you know about the Varroa mite. This pest returns to the hive on foraging bees that are working the flowers. To give you an idea of the size comparison if we were the bee the mite would be the size of a rabbit. Now think some bees have several mites on them. After it gets it's free ride into the hive it's goal is to enter into the cell with a young egg of a honeybee preferably a drone egg. This is where it will feed and lay eggs over the next few days. So by it feeding on the bees it weakens them infesting them with pathogens and viruses. Which completely destroys the colony especially during winter months. To better understand the Varroa Mites life cycle click here The best option if I were to choose is to raise bees that have good hygienic behavior. These bees would manage the mites themselves by keeping each other clean and removing infected brood. But this is not always an option. No one likes to use strong chemicals in their hive o...
JCs Bees is a central Ohio beekeeper who share personal beekeeping experiences and advice to help other beekeepers